Advertising dashboards make the top of the funnel easy to see: 47 leads, $86 cost per lead. But that same business may not know how many of those leads were actually reached, how many fit the job, how many received an estimate, how many were followed up, how many closed, or what revenue resulted. That means marketing performance is being evaluated before the business outcome is even known. The lead count tells you what entered the system. The downstream stages tell you what the system did with it.
Lead
Contacted
Qualified
Estimate
Followed Up
Booked Job
Revenue
Illustrative example — hypothetical numbers for illustration only, not an industry benchmark.
60 Leads
49 Contacted
35 Qualified
24 Estimates
21 Followed Up
10 Booked Jobs
Without the stages in between, "60 leads" tells only a small part of the story.
The 7 Numbers to Know
01
Leads
How many new opportunities entered the business? A lead should have a consistent internal definition.
02
Contact Rate
Of the incoming opportunities, how many did the team actually reach?
Contacted ÷ Leads
03
Qualification Rate
How many reached prospects actually fit the service, geography, budget, project, and timing?
Qualified ÷ Contacted
04
Estimate / Appointment Rate
How many qualified prospects reached the meaningful sales step — an estimate, inspection, consultation, or design meeting?
Estimates ÷ Qualified
05
Follow-Up Rate
How many open opportunities actually received the required follow-up? This is operational, not purely marketing.
06
Close Rate
How many qualified estimates or opportunities became customers?
Booked Jobs ÷ Estimates
07
Revenue per Lead
How much actual booked revenue did the original lead volume produce? Revenue is not the same as gross profit.
Booked Revenue ÷ Leads
The Framework
Each stage in the operating chain has an owner, an action, and a measurable result.
Who Owns It?
Someone should be accountable for the handoff.
What Happens Next?
The next action should be defined.
How Do We Know?
The result should be measurable.
Who Owns Each Handoff
01
Advertising
Lead generated
02
Front Office / Sales
Response + qualification
03
Estimating
Opportunity evaluated
04
Follow-Up
Decision supported
05
Operations
Job booked / delivered
06
Reporting
Revenue attributed
Marketing can create the opportunity. The business still has to convert it.
Advertising performance and sales performance meet in the same customer journey.
Do This This Week
01 — Build the scoreboard.
For the last 30 days, record leads, contacted, qualified, estimates/appointments, booked jobs, and booked revenue. Include follow-up if you can measure it reliably. Start with what is available.
02 — Calculate the handoff rates.
Measure the percentage moving from each stage to the next — Contacted ÷ Leads, Qualified ÷ Contacted, Booked Jobs ÷ Estimates. Compare first against your own baseline, not internet benchmarks.
03 — Assign the next action.
For every open opportunity, make sure someone knows who owns it, what happens next, and when — so nothing exists in an undefined state.
Can You See Where Growth Is Breaking Down?
The 2-minute Local Dominance Score evaluates the systems behind demand, conversion, authority, reputation, and revenue — not just lead volume.
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